God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Chapter 340: The Demon called Stingè (2).

Cain and the girls were led to a spot behind the mountain. Behind the pile of rocks Uinter had shown Cain, was a hole. This whole was large enough for a fully grown adult human to pass through.

Cain had no idea how such a hole could have gotten there, but he didn't say much. Since he still needed help to be moved around, he was assisted by a few beastmen.

As they went further into the hole, they realized that the hole was far from what they expected. Entering the main corridor, they were greeted with dim lighting and several hostile gazes.

'Not bad.'

Although it was a hole, Cain couldn't help but admit that it was impressive. It would be more accurate to call it a forte in the ground.

There were rudimentary traps erected at the entrance, as well as the corridors. Several beastmen dressed in varying armor stood at strategic points. As soon as they spotted an enemy, they would be able to retreat without having to fear for their safety.

As they walked further, Cain was able to deduce that they had been living here for a fairly long time.

They were led deeper for a few more minutes, passing by various patrols of beastmen before they finally stopped at a bend in the corner.

The strong scent of blood assaulted Cain's nose...

He was immediately greeted with a sight that would have made him retch if he hadn't prepared his mind already. Still, he couldn't help but feel a bit lightheaded.

The men in this room were all heavily injured. Well, considering their states, injured was a light way of putting it...

In his opinion, some of them were already at death's door. Some would never be able to live a normal life again if they survived, while others would make it if they were treated on time.

"My God... What happened?!" Jenny couldn't help but exclaim at this sight.

The faces of beast-men around them fell and their complexion darkened. However, they refrained from saying anything.

As they went deeper, Cain couldn't help but wonder,

'Were there always this many men in the central region?'

Since he got here, he managed to estimate just how many beastmen were living in this hole in the ground. The number that could fight numbered close to three hundred, while the ones that were too injured, or had been mutilated were close to five hundred, which was a staggering number.

Cain had to put his thoughts on the back burner as they finally arrived at their destination.

Cain couldn't help but exclaim when he saw Hunter, or rather, what was left of him. Lying on a rather clean bed made from wood and soft grass, was Hunter. Or rather, what was left of him...

No matter how it was cut, all Cain could see, was a head and a torso. He didn't have any of his appendages anymore.

Cain's face was pale. Upon seeing them, a small smile appeared on the face of the limbless Hunter,

"Hey," He said, his voice raspy and grating.

"What happened?" Cain said, his tone deep, dark, and frigid. The other girls, apart from Evangeline, who just frowned heavily, scrutinized him with horror on their faces. It was obvious this wasn't what they were expecting...

Hunter sighed, "Juté... Go out and make sure no one comes close to this place."

"That..." The big, furry wolf-man wanted to argue. However, when he saw Hunter's unchanging face, he finally relented and signaled to the other beastmen.

Once he was sure they weren't there, Hunter sighed. Then, a puzzled expression appeared on his face,

"To be honest, I wasn't sure you would follow me into this wretched place."

Cain shook his head, "I'd never leave a teammate behind. However, now is not the time for sentiments. How did all this happen?"

A grateful look flashed in Hunter's eyes, but his face remained stoic as he began his narration,

"It all began after we arrived on the central island. We were attacked by a group of female beastkin. They were strong. Very strong... I had to buy time for the others to escape."

Hunter shut his eyes, trying to recollect what happened,

"I was able to last against my opponents for a decent amount of time. I was even able to outmaneuver them temporarily. However, that demon caught me and bound me with those chains. The moment those chains were wrapped around me, I couldn't do anything. I was trapped within my mind."

Cain's frown deepened as Hunter continued,

"When I regained consciousness, I was already in the lair of the Blood Dragon. That place is hell..." A look of pure horror flashed across his face. However, it faded away rather quickly,

"In the lair of the Blood Dragon, I was able to meet these men. They are the men that used to be on the central island. After the devils had attacked, they had tried their best to stay alive. Out of all of them, Juté, the man who brought you all here has a system, along with thrre others.

However, they didn't stand a chance against those ladies when they were ambushed and betrayed to be given as sacrifices."

Cain chose that moment to speak up,

"What was the lair of the Blood Dragon like?"

Hunter's face paled, "Like I said, it was hell. An absolutely vile and terrible place. No living being should be forced to live there."

Hunter explained further, "From what I could tell, the Blood Dragon, Leonis, is a deity that bastard worships. We were captured to feed her. I've had my body completely drained of blood more times than I can count in just a few weeks."

"I can tell that's not all..." Cain said with a frown.

Hunter nodded, "Indeed. The worst part of getting captured was the experiments we were subjected to."

At that moment, Hunter fell silent. Just looking at his sweaty face, Cain could tell he didn't want to remember what he went through.

With a heavy sigh, Hunter continued after he had a few minutes to compose himself,

"Eventually, after spending some time there, I was able to find a way out when he had gone out for some time, I was able to free the others, and with that, we were ready to escape. Although everyone had gone through hell and back, there were shockingly no casualties amongst us."

"The real test began when we were already on the run."

Temporarily stopping his narration, Hunter let out a shakey breath,

"We were pursued by hordes of {Blood Abominations} and the bastard himself. We lost a lot of men along the way."

Although Hunter was stoic, Cain could see that he was disturbed about what had happened.

Cain let out a sigh...

He then turned to Susan, "Can you do something about him?"

She shook her head, "His body is heavily damaged. All his limbs are missing, and the wounds haven't been treated well. There's nothing I can do for him."

Cain turned back to Hunter, a serious expression on his face,

"How did you get this badly injured?"

Hunter's face contorted into a horrifying grimace,

"I don't want to talk about it. Just know this. That bastard isn't someone we can fight."

Cain nodded, completely understanding what was said.

Then, he turned to Hunter,

"I might have a way for you to gain your limbs back. However, I will need your utmost cooperation."

Hunter wore a shocked look on his face,

"Are you serious?!"

Even Susan and Evangeline were looking at him with raised brows. Cain simply smiled...

"Yes. However, if I do this for you, I'll need to ask you for a favor."

Hunter closed his eyes, "I don't need to hear it. As long as you heal me, I'll do anything you want me to. I'll forever be in your debt..."

Cain nodded, "Then I'll take your word for it."

With that, he turned towards the girls,

"Jenny, Evangeline, can you two help me gather as much information as you can about these beastmen? If you can, I'd like you to gain as much of their trust as you can."

Jenny nodded, a confident smile on her face,

"Leave it to me!"

Evangeline didn't say anything, but nodded, indicating she got the idea...

Turning to Susan, Cain hesitated for a second,

"Susan, I'll need you to help me stabilize his condition."

Susan nodded, her pretty face creased up in worry,

"Sure. But I'm still not sure how you are going to go about this."

Cain grinned, "I have magic hands."

The last person was Ignis, who had an amalgamation of an annoyed and bored look on her face. Seeing Cain staring at her with a suspicious expression on his face, she growled at him, her guard slightly raised.

Seeing the obvious hostility coming from her, Cain cleared his throat with a strange smile,

"And Ignis, can you stand guard outside the room?"

Glaring at Cain for a second, she snorted and turned around on her heels, exiting the room. Jenny threw him an awkward smile before she also exited the room. Evangeline gave him a deep stare, which he returned with the same intensity,

"You noticed as well?"

Cain rolled his eyes, "Of course I did."

Nodding her head, Evangeline prepared to leave as well. The shadows beneath her feet became alive. Just as she was preparing to dive through them, Cain called out to her,

"Keep an eye out for any changes." He said, his eyes brimming with a dark light.

Nothing else was left to be said as she disappeared into the darkness of the shadows.

Turning back to Hunter, who was lying on the bed with a strange smile on his face, he grinned,

"Let's bring you back to life..."